A rape charge is no bar for politicians: 260 MLAs and MPs contested polls while facing sexual assault charges

Samajwadi Party MLA Anoop Sanda has declared rape in his affidavit to the election commission

Political parties may have joined the entire nation in expressing outrage over the gang rape of a 23-year-old girl in the Capital, but they have never shied away from fielding in elections the candidates facing charges of crimes against women.

A report compiled by the National Election Watch (NEW) and the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has revealed that about 260 candidates facing charges such as rape, assault and outraging the modesty of a woman contested assembly elections on tickets of various parties in the last five years.

The Congress was leading the 'shame-list' with 26 such candidates followed by the BJP (24), the BSP (18) and the Samajwadi Party (16), the report said.

In Maharashtra, 41 such candidates were given tickets, while 37 got tickets in Uttar Pradesh and 22 in West Bengal.

At least 27 candidates from the list were charged with rape and still managed to contest assembly elections, it stated.

"By giving tickets to candidates who have been charged with crimes against women especially rape, political parties have been in a way abetting to circumstances that lead to such events … but (they) vehemently condemn in Parliament," the organisations said, demanding that even the cases against such elected representatives be "fast tracked."

In a statement, they said: "Such people should be debarred from contesting elections and the political parties should be forced to disclose the criteria on which candidates are given tickets."

Sadly, according to the report, such candidates weren't just restricted to the state assemblies.